An exercise with a bad rap, people usually want to skip deadlifts. It excruciates lower back pain in the ugliest form which lasts for more than a day. Trainers often quote that back pain through deadlifts is common but it’s not normal. It is simply an indication that you are not doing it in the right way and there is something wrong with your lifts.
Deadlift Exercise Reduces Back Pain or Causes Back Pain?
Dead lifting may cause a little fatigue or tiredness in the day which is pretty much normal. But, a few people wake up with a back pain next day. It affects their day to day activity and it becomes difficult for them to bend over or twist their body. Moreover, sitting on a couch becomes apprehensive and it becomes difficult to roll over the bed. If this is the case with you, something is wrong about your dead lift technique and you need to work out on it.
Although deadlift is a full body movement yet you feel it more on your back if you are doing it right. That is why it is incorporated on back day instead of leg day. But if you feel pain, it is not a good sign.
Back pain occurs because you are not approaching and executing the lift in a proper way. We have enlisted 6 common mistakes people make while deadlifting along with its proper solutions.
#1 Not firing up your lats
Lats is the biggest muscle in your back. It stretches from humerus in your upper arm to your pelvis. If kept in position, it provides a lot of strength and stability to your spine. If you do not engage your lats before you start the lift, it creates a tension across your back. And when you transfer weight from your lower body to upper body, it leads to strand and pain in your back.
The problem is easy to fix. Just pretend that you are squeezing an orange in your armpit while doing the lift.
#2 Don’t start with the bar too far away
The position of the bar is another common mistake people make while deadlifting. If the bar is too far away, you are giving a poor pull to yourself which puts on lots on strain on your back.
To be precise, the barbell should be right over your midfoot. When the bar is located closer, the dead lift becomes more efficient.
#3 Not bending your knees enough
The conventional deadlift requires you to bend your knees, enough to get you down to the bar. In order to save your knees from bending, people end up bending their backs and crush it. Moreover, it is impossible to achieve the exact wedge shape of the deadlift without bending your knees. Remember, you chest should be positioned above your hips and your hips above the knees.
#4 Don’t focus on pulling the weight up
Yes, deadlifting is a pulling exercise but don’t underestimate this pull as a simple one because the misconception will leave your body in a dangerous position with a threat to your back. If you initiate it as a pull, your hips and shoulders will not move at a similar pace which is very important. Thinking more about pulling will make you miss the tension and cause back pain due to excessive force.
#5 Overextending at the top of the lift
Most of the people finish off the lift with almost a hip thrust on the floor. This extra range of motion is not good for your back. You actually push your lower back while doing it and overarch it. You should not over extend it at any cost.
#6 Do not ignore your abs
Most of the people involve abs in the lift when they start it but while on their back they let the gravity take over and simply drop their weight which is bad. This instant dropping knocks the position of your body, straining your lower back and causing pain. Keeping your lats and abs engaged helps you to control the lowering of your body.
Doing the exercise in a right manner is quite important for your good health. I hope you will save your back by following the given points and will produce effective results. If you have back pain than you can try inversion table therapy, which helped many to reduce back pain.
